Ribbons
by lyradaisical
Summary: Oneshot. Adrien learns the truth about the scarf and he can't get Marinette off his mind.


It all started when Nino blabbed out that Marinette had a crush on him. Of course, Adrien thought it was a joke, considering that Marinette almost always had a look of utmost discomfort when he talked to her. But it was confirmed when Alya completely lost it and nearly strangled Nino to death for opening his big mouth.

"You better not have told him about the scarf!" Alya seethed, her voice low and harsh. Nino's shirt collar wrinkled and stretched within her tight grip and he was sure that it was as good as ruined.

"I didn't! I didn't!" Nino raised his hands in surrender. He would have said anything to have her release him but he was being honest. The comment about Marinette's crush slipped through his lips by accident. He and Adrien had witnessed a boy being turned down by the pigtailed girl and Adrien made a comment in passing about how surprising it was that Marinette was still single. He figured there had to be at least one person at school who caught her eye but it seemed like she was rejecting everyone who showed any interest.

"Well, yeah. That's because she's totally head over heels in love with you." Nino stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Before he could even let that first revelation sink it, a second revelation came from Alya while she was busy trying to kill Nino.

"Scarf?" Adrien blinked at the two, hand unconsciously rising to grasp the blue scarf around his neck. Nino and Alya froze before suddenly straightening up, throwing their arms around each other's shoulders and laughing stiffly.

"Scarf? What scarf? There's nothing about that scarf you don't know about." Nino rambled nervously, only to have Alya stomp down on his foot. He yelped in pain.

Adrien's brows furrowed in confusion and suspicion at the way they were acting. Alya sighed in defeat and released Nino. She walked up to Adrien and placed her hands on his shoulders, intimidating him by how serious she looked. Alya was a friend but they weren't super close so it made him wonder what it was that she knew about the scarf that his father had given him.

"Please don't be too upset, okay?" Alya looked him straight in the eyes, with marked concerned. He could only nod in response. "Marinette was the one who made you that scarf. She missed her chance to give it to you so we dropped it off at your place. I'm not sure what happened but," She exhaled and averted her eyes. "You came to school the next day thinking your dad got it for you."

Adrien's mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure of what to say. Nino glanced at him with worry. They all knew how much the scarf meant to him, especially when he thought that it was his dad that gave it to him. When Nino first heard about it from Alya, he was furious. He was pissed on Marinette's behalf, having her hard work stolen and feelings stomped on. On one hand, Nino was relieved that the truth was out because it was only fair to Marinette and Gabriel didn't deserve the credit. On the other, the myriad of emotions that passed Adrien's face—shock, disappointment, hurt—made him wish that the truth stayed buried.

"Marinette made this?" Adrien tugged at the scarf and looked down at it. It was as if he had to make sure he heard Alya right the first time.

"Yeah." She confirmed.

"Why didn't she tell me?" He whispered, still looking at the scarf as his fingers ran down the plush yarn of the accessory. He momentarily put his own feelings aside and wondered how Marinette must have felt when she heard him say that his father had gotten it for him.

Alya released him and sighed, placing one hand on her cocked hip and running the other through her curly locks. She looked across the courtyard and spotted Marinette chatting with Rose. Adrien followed her gaze towards Marinette to see her laughing along with Rose before the shorter girl stood on her tippy toes to give Marinette a hug.

"I think you know the reason." Alya said and gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

Adrien never confronted Marinette about her crush or the scarf. After all, she was already nervous enough around him. But he couldn't very well continue passing his days like usual, knowing that she liked him and that she cared enough to make him a gift _and _let him believe that it was from his father in order to protect his feelings. He had become hyper-aware of her, noticing and watching her every time she was in the same vicinity. He felt antsy whenever she was close and he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

He had been aware of her before, if only from the few times they interacted or when she was on the other end of Chloe's outbursts. He knew that she was nice, often looking out for others. She was a good leader, a talented designer, surprisingly sassy—just simply a pleasant girl. He hadn't thought much beyond that. The girl he mainly thought about was Ladybug.

But now—now was a different story. Because now there was another girl who was equally as beautiful and quite possibly equally as amazing as his lady. _And this girl was in love with him. _He wondered if it was just some misguided affection because he was famous. She never gave him the impression that she was interested in him because of that. In fact, their first meeting had done enough to dispel that thought. So he was left guessing what exactly it was about him that attracted her.

When Marinette's birthday came rolling around, Adrien knew he had to get her something. Not just because she had gotten him something but because they were friends. Alya had graciously told him that Marinette was a fan of his father's work so he decided to get her an outfit from the women's line. It was clear that she liked pink so that made it easy enough for him to pick something out. But it felt much too impersonal. When he considered how much time and effort she had put into making his scarf, he felt that his gift was severely lacking.

The next day when he saw her, she waved him a quick hello as she walked by with Alya. He blinked when a flash of red entered his vision. Her hair ties were red. He thought it was a little odd since it didn't match anything she wore. When he thought about it, he realized that she always wore red hair ties. And whenever he thought of red, he thought of his lady.

The last time they met was just two days prior when there was an attack. They were both famished afterward and Ladybug pointed down at the nearest bakery, Tom and Sabine's, exclaiming that they made the best pastries in all of Paris. He couldn't help but grin at how excited she sounded while saying it.

"Is that how you know Marinette?" The question had slipped out without him realizing. Marinette had been on his mind constantly, his reasoning was that he had to get her a gift. His question startled her and she stared at him with wide eyes.

"What, why—?" She stuttered, a rare action for her. The last time he'd heard her stutter was when she had looked in his bathroom to find him 'showering.'

"Remember, you had me watch over her for a bit? And that interview you did for the Ladyblog was set up by her right?" He raised a brow at her nervousness.

"O-oh! Yeah, that's right." She laughed sheepishly and absentmindedly played with her hair. A slight breeze blew by, making her ribbons flutter gently. His heart raced at the sight. "I guess you can say we're friends."

As if she wasn't already amazing enough, Marinette was friends with _the_ _Ladybug_.

Adrien was nervous when he handed her the neatly wrapped box. But she didn't seem to notice as she stared bug-eyed at the present. He could hear Alya and Nino chuckling quietly in their seats, no doubt amused by his newfound awkwardness around Marinette.

While he could have waited until her party on the weekend to give her the gift, he found himself getting impatient. He wanted to surprise her on her actual birthday. He was eager to see her reaction. He wished dearly for her to like his gift as much as he loved hers.

"Happy birthday, Marinette." He smiled. Her eyes flickered up to meet his and she still looked shocked.

"Y-You didn't have to get me anything." Her eyes fell back to the box and she paused before continuing. "I didn't get you anything for your birthday." She mumbled. Despite knowing that she was lying to him, it still warmed his heart to see her trying hard on his behalf. Both Alya and Nino shot her sympathetic looks and wondered if perhaps it would have been better to tell her that Adrien knew.

If possible, her eyes grew even wider when she opened the box. She pulled out the luxurious pink cashmere sweater that lay inside and held it up, effectively blocking his view of her reaction.

"I hope it suits your tastes. I didn't know what to get you." Adrien chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. The sweater immediately came down and she met his eyes with her own awe-struck ones.

"I love it! Thank you so much, Adrien!" Her voice did not betray her emotions. She sounded absolutely ecstatic and he felt so relieved. But he was beginning to think that anything would have brought out such a reaction from her. She seemed to be the type to be happy and grateful to get anything.

Marinette folded up the sweater and was about to put it back in the box when she noticed something else inside. She blinked at the red ribbons and pulled them out, examining the silky strips of fabric.

"I noticed you always wear red hair ties so I thought ribbons would be nice." He explained, a slight blush falling upon his cheeks. He suddenly wondered if it was weird for him to notice her hair accessories. "U-um, you don't have to use them or anything. I just…"

Ignoring his words, Marinette tied the ribbons into her hair and smiled at him shyly, cheeks tinged with pink. She nervously fingered the hair that framed her face and tucked it behind her ear.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. For a split second, he thought that he was looking at Ladybug.

"Thank you. They're lovely." She smiled brightly.

"Y-you're welcome." He managed to get his words out despite it feeling like his heart was lodged in his throat.

That night was the first time his dreams began playing with him. Dreams of Marinette. Dreams of Ladybug. Dreams of Marinette being Ladybug.

He was unsure of how he'd fallen so deep. As Chat Noir, he was constantly chasing after Ladybug and now as Adrien, his eyes perpetually trailed after Marinette. It was getting to the point where he was unable to separate them, his mind automatically merging them together against his wishes. He blamed Nino for all of it. If only he had remained ignorant about Marinette. He was happy enough just obsessing over one girl.

He was almost starting to resent Marinette, even though it wasn't her fault that he couldn't stop thinking about her. He was so skittish around her that even she was starting to notice that there was something wrong. The tables turned and he was now the one that became a nervous wreck when she spoke to him.

Adrien felt terrible for putting such an expression on Marinette's face. She was clearly hurt by his obvious avoidance of her. But it was the only solution he could think of to keep his sanity intact. He wasn't sure how many more dreams he could take before his guilt completely overtook him.

No matter how many times his dreams teased him by putting Ladybug and Marinette together, the gears in his mind would come to a screeching halt and dismiss the notion completely. His brain seemed to be one hundred percent sure that they couldn't be the same but every other part of his body was drawn to both as if they were.

"Are you okay Chat?" Ladybug cocked her head questioningly when Chat failed to return their usual fist bump. He was pulled out of his reverie and gave her a sheepish smile before bumping his fist against hers.

"Just perfect, My Lady." He purred before taking her hand and leaning down to kiss it. She didn't pull away like she usually did and looked at him skeptically. "Honest, My Lady. Nothing can ever be wrong when I'm with you." He gazed at her with a seriousness that she rarely witnessed from him.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to start thinking that you're serious." She chuckled.

"I've always been serious." He said, voice devoid of its usual humor.

Pink splashed across her cheeks, barely concealed by her mask. Chat was always joking around and flirting with her. But she never expected that his feelings for her were any deeper than a simple crush.

"Perhaps I should humor you then." She leaned forward and lightly flicked his nose. An amused smirk stretched across her face when he finally registered what she had said and his jaw dropped.

"What?" He uttered, completely flabbergasted.

Ladybug turned away from him and looked out towards the cityscape. She closed her eyes and took comfort in the breeze that brushed against the bare skin of her face. When she opened them, she found that the lights that illuminated the night seemed to glow just a little bit brighter.

"To be honest, there was someone that I was absolutely crazy about." She started, earning Chat's undivided attention. It wasn't often that she talked about herself. He briefly wondered what kind of person was able to catch her attention. "He suddenly started avoiding me recently. I guess his position is pretty clear." Ladybug chuckled, despite explaining something that should have had her upset.

"Whoever he is, he's an idiot for not seeing how amazing you are."

"Are you trying to woo me with your flattery?" Ladybug laughed. He grinned and leaned over and bumped his shoulder against hers.

"Is it working?" He winked, earning another laugh from her.

"Shouldn't you be concerned about being second choice?" She raised an eyebrow at his eagerness.

"You could tell me that I'm your hundredth choice and it wouldn't bother me. I'd be satisfied that you would consider me at all." The way his eyes glowed adoringly at her had her heart skipping. Did he always look at her that way? She had never noticed.

"What do you even like about me anyway?" She asked, genuinely curious. His flirtations had pretty much started from the get go and she wondered when exactly he started liking her.

"Everything." He stated simply with a smile, only for her to push against him with her hip, knocking him off balance.

"Be serious, Kitty." She pouted.

"I am being serious." He laughed. Ladybug wasn't sure if he was being extra suave today or if she just didn't pay it any mind before. Her cheeks warmed when she thought of his answer.

"Everything?" She peered up at him, catching his gaze.

"Everything. Your kindness, your strength, your bravery and that stubbornness of yours," Chat smiled as he lifted a finger to play with the strands of hair caressing her face. "Even though you have your doubts and make mistakes, you still give it your all." His hand froze, fingers resting against her cheek as he peered into her sky-blue eyes.

_Breathe. _

"Marinette."

The named flowed past his lips with surprising ease, quiet enough to be mistaken for the whisper of the wind. But the way her eyes widened confirmed that she had heard. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. His hands found her sides and he held her lightly.

"Please tell me it's you, Marinette." He breathed, warm breath tickling her skin.

"I…" She started but she couldn't get any other words out. He felt her nod against him and he let out a sigh in relief. "How…?" Her voice trembled and she bit her lip in trepidation.

His hands left her sides and searched for her hands, grasping them tightly when he found them. He let his transformation fade away and she had to close her eyes from the brightness. When she opened them, she saw a familiar pair of sneakers. She smelled the familiar fresh scent of cologne and when he spoke, she heard the familiar timbre of his voice. He stepped back from her, still keeping her hands in his. She raised her head to see the striking green eyes that she'd spent so much time dreaming about.

"Adrien." She said breathlessly.

"My Lady." He offered her a smile and squeezed her hands lightly.

That was all the confirmation she needed before she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He returned the gesture, embracing her tightly.

"I'm so glad it's you." He murmured into her hair as he rested his head against hers.

"Me too."


End file.
